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Your Questions Answered by Natalia Pogonina-41

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Written by Administrator   
Monday, 29 April 2013
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Every week grandmaster Natalia Pogonina chooses the 7 most popular and interesting questions addressed to her and answers them publicly. The rules are simple - send us your questions and see them featured in Natalia's Q&As column!

 Q1: How similar are Garry Kasparov's and Magnus Carlsen's styles?


A: Very different. If we sort the players' strengths in descending order, for Garry it will be "opening-middlegame-endgame", while for Magnus - "endgame-middlegame-opening". Garry plays very aggressively and fundamentally, while Magnus relies heavily on his technique and positional understanding. Also, Garry has a scientific, analytical approach to chess. For him it is important to establish what the objectively strongest continuation is in each particular position. He can spend months and years arguing what the outcome of the game should have been. Magnus is more practical and pragmatic. He is choosing the moves that pose the most problems before his opponents, which make them worry and make mistakes. He is trying to play in the most efficient way possible. In this sense I like the wording suggested by Vladimir Kramnik: "Carlsen is an improved version of Karpov". And, as you probably remember, Karpov was Kasparov's antipode at the board.

Q2: How does playing games such as Minecraft and World of Warcraft affect one's chess strength?

A: I guess it depends on the dose. If you are playing MMORPGs to shake off the tension after a game, then it could be useful. However, if you get addicted to the game, you will not have enough time for studying chess. Your motivation will also decrease. People have been expelled from college/lost jobs & families due to being addicted to online games, so be careful.

Q3: As far as I know, you recommend club players not to spend too much time on the opening. Why are most of my friends still dedicating a lion's share of their time to polishing their favorite lines?

A: First of all, they are probably mimicking the world's best. However, the top players have walked a long road before arriving at where they are. In their games there are few mistakes, so obtaining an edge from the beginning of the game is important. On the contrary, in amateur confrontations both opponents are usually blundering a few times per game. Why not focus on middlegame/endgame instead of the opening? And, of course, on tactics. Secondly, we associate our openings with ourselves. No one is saying "my middlegame", "my endgame", but you can hear about "my Slav" or "my King's Gambit". Thirdly, studying openings seems to be an easy pastime. Chess players opt for the path of least resistance: they grab a book/software and start reviewing it diligently day after day. This is easier than, for example, working on one's technique of converting winning positions or learning how to avoid time trouble. How should one study the opening? That is a different question. 

Q4: I admire the way you play chess. Where can I buy a book featuring your best games?

A: Thank you. I have noticed that the option "annotate her classical games" is the most popular reply in a poll about making Pogonina.com better. There are two issues here. Analyzing my own games is a rigorous task. I am spending LOTS of time on each game. Also, I believe that publishing such a book is somewhat premature, because I am still an active player. Let me concentrate on tournaments instead for now

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Q5:
What do you think about flaggers? I hate those morons who are trying to win on time in every game.

A: I have a  negative attitude towards playing on time and am not practicing it. However, a lot depends on the position. Playing a dead drawn rook vs. rook endgame only to convert those two extra seconds on the clock is one thing, while exploiting the time shortage of the opponent to outplay him in an equal/worse complicated endgame is another matter. After all, time is part of the game.

I can give you a few recommendations. First of all, choose the time control that suits your taste. If you are getting flagged in 3m/game blitz, then switch to 3m+1s/move. Secondly, don't worry, be happy. Why get upset about someone else's misbehaviour? Please avoid heated conversations on the Internet. What goes around comes around. Don't be evil. Thirdly, stay alert. Sometimes people get so carried away by trying to flag you that they lose on time themselves, or get checkmated. 


Q6: I like chess and want to become a professional player. What level should I reach first? IM?


A: It depends on how active and enterprising you are. On the one hand, there are strong grandmasters who are idling at home and earning nothing. On the other hand, certain NMs are making quite a lot. You can take a look at the following articles for more information:

Making money in chess
Chess Cash Kings-2012

Q7: I have heard that all the strongest chess players have their own computer labs, which they use to obtain cutting edge analysis. Then they memorize it and play well. How good is your home lab?

A: You are exaggerating. By far not all the top GMs have computer clusters at home. The stronger the engine, the closer to 0.00 is the evaluation of the main lines. I have never analyzed on a super computer, but can predict that it won't be as efficient as you presume. You know, chess players are looking for complicated positions which are hard to tackle for an unprepared opponent. You should know the plans and ideas. Computers can't help much in this respect. Regarding memorizing: once again, you need to know the typical setups and plans. All the move orders can't be memorized unless you have some sort of photographic memory. 


Previous episodes:

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Comments (1)
1. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it on 00:22 18 2013 .
 
 
I challenge you, Natalia, to invite discussion on unusual ways to prepare for a tournament--other than studying chess directly! For example, one champ studied "Go" exclusively before a championship match.
 

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